Note: This thread is written as if we live in the parallel future presented in The First Travel Guide to The Moon that I describe here, with a few changes and elaborations. For example, the U.S.S.R. still broke up in '90 or thereabouts.

Hey, guys, just wanted some input on a major space-astronomy related choice. I've been saving up some money for a trip over the winter holidays, and I was thinking of maybe going to the Galapagos. But then I realised that I could afford the student rate on a Moonliner, so I'm thinking about visiting the moon. I know that there have been regular flights since '95, but nobody I know has made the trip. Have any of you? If you have, give me some travel tips. I'm not sure which Earthport to leave from- the foreign ones are newer, but not as nice as Kennedy or Johnson from what I've heard, and then there's that new one in Mojave...

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"If you think the LHC will create black holes, you might as well believe Hobbits are at the bottom of your garden."- Dr. Mike Inglis
Rovers forever! - ToSeek
"Carl Sagan sent a message to ET,
Neil Armstrong walked in the Sea of Tranquility
Steve Squyers built Spirit and Opportunity
Dan Haylen upchucked in zero gravity." -Brent Simon, The Space Camp Song

Try the oldest and best of all, Tyuratam. Kennedy is scenic, but nothing beats leaving from the same pad as Yuri Gagarin. You also get a much better view from Earth from the three day stop over at Mir 2 before you leave for the Moon.

I'm going up next week to pick out a house in the new De Bergerac dome. I hear the Low-G Arbortetum is spectacular; even with most of the trees still saplings, they're taller than most Earth trees.

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"If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction."
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
Illuminati's Razor-The most complicatedly evil answer is usually the most correct answer. - Fazor
"Every book is a children's book if the kid can read." - Mitch Hedberg
"Distance doesn’t matter much in space, where if you just start a thing off with the right kind of shove, sooner or later it will get where you want it to go." -Frederik Pohl, Mining the Oort

Maybe I will go to Tyuratam, even if it is farther away. Three days to get used to zero-g sounds like a good plan, as I'm somewhat prone to travel sicknesses.

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"If you think the LHC will create black holes, you might as well believe Hobbits are at the bottom of your garden."- Dr. Mike Inglis
Rovers forever! - ToSeek
"Carl Sagan sent a message to ET,
Neil Armstrong walked in the Sea of Tranquility
Steve Squyers built Spirit and Opportunity
Dan Haylen upchucked in zero gravity." -Brent Simon, The Space Camp Song

They're spinning up the new oscillating wheelstation now, by this time next year it should make most of the Earth-Moon trip easier on the stomach.

__________________
"If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction."
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
Illuminati's Razor-The most complicatedly evil answer is usually the most correct answer. - Fazor
"Every book is a children's book if the kid can read." - Mitch Hedberg
"Distance doesn’t matter much in space, where if you just start a thing off with the right kind of shove, sooner or later it will get where you want it to go." -Frederik Pohl, Mining the Oort

I can't stand the in-flight mush they call spaceline food, and the zero-gravity toilets are a nightmare.
And when you get to the Moon it smells of gunpowder for some reason.

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Orion's Arm . The Starlark . Voices: Future Tense . OA Flickr set

And three days of bad movies is really too much to bear.

__________________
"If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction."
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
Illuminati's Razor-The most complicatedly evil answer is usually the most correct answer. - Fazor
"Every book is a children's book if the kid can read." - Mitch Hedberg
"Distance doesn’t matter much in space, where if you just start a thing off with the right kind of shove, sooner or later it will get where you want it to go." -Frederik Pohl, Mining the Oort

How long should I stay? I've heard staying a month and watching Earth go thorough all of it's phases is spectacular. I visited the Lunar Tourism Bureau office near my hometown and got a map of all the settlements and a timetable for shuttle flights up to Mir 2 and Space Base. Very efficient. Saw a few brochures for tours to the Apollo Landing UNESCO World Heritage Sites, but I'd also like to visit the SETI facilities on the farside. Should I get a laptop upgrade so I can post from the moon or just use the terminals at the hotel?

__________________
"If you think the LHC will create black holes, you might as well believe Hobbits are at the bottom of your garden."- Dr. Mike Inglis
Rovers forever! - ToSeek
"Carl Sagan sent a message to ET,
Neil Armstrong walked in the Sea of Tranquility
Steve Squyers built Spirit and Opportunity
Dan Haylen upchucked in zero gravity." -Brent Simon, The Space Camp Song

You've probably heard this before, but the best advice for a first time lunatic is to choose the sleep option on the tour up, and save the zero-g for the return trip. If the zero-g gets to your stomach, your first lunar week will be ruined, and the food up there doesn't help!

Thanks for the tip. I'm a PADI Open Water Scuba Diver, and had no problem with the microgravity underwater, but I guess it's better safe than sorry. But what about my Internet question?

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"If you think the LHC will create black holes, you might as well believe Hobbits are at the bottom of your garden."- Dr. Mike Inglis
Rovers forever! - ToSeek
"Carl Sagan sent a message to ET,
Neil Armstrong walked in the Sea of Tranquility
Steve Squyers built Spirit and Opportunity
Dan Haylen upchucked in zero gravity." -Brent Simon, The Space Camp Song

I go to the Moon to get away from the internet, so I can't help you there.

But don't let what people say about the food put you off. It's much better than you get on a terrestrial camping trip. The fresh fruit and vegetables taste the same as here, so does the fish and poultry. Red meat and cereals get flown in, so are luxury items.

Don't worry about space sicknes either, the pills these days are really very good. Even if you feel queasy, landing on the Moon and felling weight again fixes that.

Yeah, the in flight movies are typical fare. But not many people are watching them, I have observed. Seeing the Earth fall away and the Moon rise towards you is much more exciting than the latest Bollywood blockbuster (BTW, does anyone in Hollywood make movies as opposed to commercials any more?).

Jon

That's reasuring. How long do you recomend staying and at which hotel? Which attractions are must-sees?

__________________
"If you think the LHC will create black holes, you might as well believe Hobbits are at the bottom of your garden."- Dr. Mike Inglis
Rovers forever! - ToSeek
"Carl Sagan sent a message to ET,
Neil Armstrong walked in the Sea of Tranquility
Steve Squyers built Spirit and Opportunity
Dan Haylen upchucked in zero gravity." -Brent Simon, The Space Camp Song

[Actually, wheat is one of the highest oxygen producing plants per mass, so is likely to become a staple of any long-term human habitation in space.]

__________________
"If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction."
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
Illuminati's Razor-The most complicatedly evil answer is usually the most correct answer. - Fazor
"Every book is a children's book if the kid can read." - Mitch Hedberg
"Distance doesn’t matter much in space, where if you just start a thing off with the right kind of shove, sooner or later it will get where you want it to go." -Frederik Pohl, Mining the Oort

Yeah, but wheat wasn't exactly a lunar succes. We all remember the famine in '29 and the "Big Genostrophe" in '34. I think we'll have to live with syntho and ponic crops for a while, unless you can afford imports from the Big E. But, seriously, syntho isn't all that bad.

If you're into sports, there's plenty to do, of course. But you should definately pay a visit to Disney World Lunar Resort! It's not as big as Orlando, but twice as fun! I once took a daytrip to the southpole mercury telescope, but it wasn't in operation that day (check the operation schedule before booking!), but the guided tour was nice. But just walking around and seeing even the most mundane stuff is exciting, if you're a first time lunatic.

I thought Mount Everest was "the big E". Man, I'm out of touch with slang.
I picked up some brochures with about the Disney Lunar Resort at the Tourism Office. I think I'll stay at Crescent Earth Inn. Two stars, but great for budget travelers and youth. Near the main port in Clavius where all the Moonliners land, too.

__________________
"If you think the LHC will create black holes, you might as well believe Hobbits are at the bottom of your garden."- Dr. Mike Inglis
Rovers forever! - ToSeek
"Carl Sagan sent a message to ET,
Neil Armstrong walked in the Sea of Tranquility
Steve Squyers built Spirit and Opportunity
Dan Haylen upchucked in zero gravity." -Brent Simon, The Space Camp Song

But it is. The only dryland on Earth. ;-)

I'd make sure to take some time for cavern flying at the Luna City batcave. Try to get one of the expert flyers to take you under the wing (so to speak). Pro rigs are much more fun than tourist rigs, but pay attention - you can get in trouble much easier too.

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I say there is an invisible elf in my backyard. How do you prove that I am wrong?

Disclaimer: Avatar is not an official NASA image and does not imply any specific interplanetary or interstellar capability.

The Leif Ericson Cruiser

Thanks. My flight leaves from Tyuratam at the begining of the Winter Holidays.

__________________
"If you think the LHC will create black holes, you might as well believe Hobbits are at the bottom of your garden."- Dr. Mike Inglis
Rovers forever! - ToSeek
"Carl Sagan sent a message to ET,
Neil Armstrong walked in the Sea of Tranquility
Steve Squyers built Spirit and Opportunity
Dan Haylen upchucked in zero gravity." -Brent Simon, The Space Camp Song

Van Rijn's right about the Luna City Batcave - definite "must see". Even if you don't have the funds to use the pro rigs, though, it's still a blast to do some cave flying - even if you have to use the tourist rigs! Hey, it's your vacation and how often do you get to visit the Moon? Make the best of the trip! Little tip, though: about 3 km from the start of the Cernan trail, where the cavern map looks like it takes a right jog and then straightens out a bit? Don't believe it. The cavern wall there has a chunk knocked out from my flight helmet. Talk about seeing stars.... If you stay about 10 m off the right cavern wall, you'll be fine.

If you do the sleep option on the way up, keep in mind that you'll wake up hungry, thirsty and your eyelids WILL be glued shut - they tell you about the first two, but the third one you learn on your own. It's damned annoying, since you're trying to pry your eyelashes apart right around the time the monitors come up showing the start of the landing approach (not to be missed).

While you're in Luna City, at least eat at Moonwalker in the Earthlight Hotel (even if you can't afford to stay there). The food is terrific and the prices are pretty reasonable. Be sure to try the vacuum-distilled peach brandy for a dessert drink, too. Just one, though, until you get used to the gravity and what the brandy'll do to your balance....

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"Any technology, no matter how primitive, is magic to those who don't understand it." - Florence Ambrose